Champions League play-off fixtures confirmed as Celtic and Fenerbahce crash out
Not a single Dutch club are assured of a group-stage place but Ajax and PSV are two legs away
DUTCH giants Ajax and PSV are among the clubs just two legs from the Champions League group stage.
With the Dutch league dropping to 14th in Uefa's list of coefficients, not one team from the division automatically qualified for the group stage.
But Ajax face Dynamo Kiev in the play-offs - the final hurdle to reach the group stage - after strikes from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Matthijs de Ligt and David Neres gave them a 3-0 (5-2 aggregate) win over Standard Liege.
Ukraine's Dynamo sealed their berth to face the four-time competition winners with a 2-0 (3-1 agg.) victory against Slavia Prague.
PSV enter at the play-off stage and face Bate Borisov after the Belarusian side scraped through with a 1-1 draw (2-1 agg) against Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag.
Benfica's 1-1 draw (2-1 agg.) draw at Fenerbahce booked them a clash with PAOK, whose 0-0 draw with Spartak Moscow ensured a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
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Young Boys enter the competition with a clash against Dinamo Zagreb after the Croatian side toppled Astana.
Serbian side Red Star Belgrade make their bow against Salzburg, who came through 4-0 on aggregate against Macedonia's Shkendija.
Hungarian outfit Vidi's 0-0 with Malmo was enough to send them through to face AEK Athens – who turfed Celtic out of the competition last night.
Celtic could only manage a 1-1 draw in the first leg and, ultimately, it cost them on their trip to Athens.
Brendan Rodgers' side went down 2-1 as Scott Sinclair's 78th-minute strike proved in vain.
Champions League play-off draw
Ties on 21 & 29 August
- Red Star Belgrade (SRB) vs Salzburg (AUT)
- Bate Borisov (BLR) vs PSV Eindhoven (NED)
- Benfica (POR) vs PAOK (GRE)
Ties on 22 & 28 August
- Young Boys (SUI) vs Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
- Vidi (HUN) vs AEK Athens (GRE)
- Ajax (NED) vs Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
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